The difficult child. Writer, lesbian, feminist, hyper Jewish girl in combat boots. Suffers from low grade (but entirely justifiable!) paranoia. Draws, writes, jumps rope, programs html, and sings when no one is listening. Devotee of golden-age sci fi pulps, Lovecraft, Japanese language, war fiction, Asian history, and classic movie actresses. Suspicious of authority, ardent defender of the Constitution, refuses to conform to gender constructs. Dances in stairwells, screams in hallways. Approach with caution. Use within thirty days of opening. Do not remove tag under penalty of law.

So I worked on a total of seventeen fics this year-- some of them just chapters, some of them actual complete stories. I think I'm getting better at actually finishing WIPs. You can see that I have less remaining from the past two years-- though I still have a ton left over from my compulsive write-and-post days. My Star Wars fics generally stand a chance of actually being finished someday (soon, I hope), especially "From Where Ever I Am To You" and "The Widow Skywalker" (and "Faces in the Passageway" if I could get past this weird underage thing. Don't ask.). The Babylon 5 fics are probably doomed, unless I sit down and watch seasons three and four again. B5 and Susan/Marcus were what brought me into fan fiction, so it does hold a special place in my heart. ^_^ As for my lone Sakura fic... I don't know, really.

I don't actually feel like I wrote a lot this year-- going to Japan drained me of a lot of energy, then gave me a boost about a month or so after I got back. I definitely wasn't as prolific as I was in 2003, churning out M*A*S*H fics like there was no tomorrow. However, I hope I think my quality is improving, which would explain why things take longer. Yeah.

Following Leigh's lead, I did not include the various fics, snatches of lines, and ideas that exist in a folder called 'past at thy door' sitting on my desktop. These include the ever-persistent Absolutely-Bizarre-MASH-fic, two unfinished Stargate pieces, the end of "From Where Ever I Am To You", various notes and one-liners, as well as a Star Wars piece-- "War Song"-- that's so far from my usual par that I think I might have been possessed. In the interests of keeping my WIP list down, I have never posted it, though I am desperate to reassure myself of its quality.

My favorite story this year (of my own): "You Only Say You're Sorry" is sort of my baby... it's the seed for my take on the HP universe. Sometimes I love "Falling is Like This" and sometimes I'm very lukewarm. "Through the Gates" was a satisfying piece... I honestly don't know. They're all my babies-- I can't choose. ^^;

My best story this year: "In Scorching Glass", "Through the Gates", or "These Are All Warnings (Which You Must Forget)". "In Scorching Glass" made me skirt the line of decency and, despite the fact I love "Through the Gates", it is a very vicious piece. Of the three, I think I am most consistently pleased with "These Are All Warnings (That You Must Forget)". A)It proved to me that plot bunnies can come back from the dead, B)I feel as though I really nailed Young Jack's voice, C) despite the fact it was written over the space of more than six months, it flows. Hot damn.

Story most underappreciated by the universe, in my opinion: I'm always grateful for any attention I get, so I feel bad answering this question. If pushed, I guess... Hmmm... that would be "What Rough Beast". I love to play with villains and, again, the piece was written somewhat viciously, but I was so pleased with it. I didn't get much feedback for it, but what I did get was in-depth and so kind, so I cannot complain.

Most fun story: "One Familiar Face". I like writing Jack a lot, and I have so much fun planning ahead.

Most sexy story: Over all, my Lily/Narcissa femslash has a lot of submerged eroticism in it, because it's a pairing so twisted (and so un-canon! ^^;;) but right that I adore it. There's a dangerous feel to it, because they don't have much time, and it's a love tinged with hate. It's like flash paper, but it keeps burning.

Story with single sexiest moment: That would be "In Scorching Glass". I can't believe I wrote that!

"Holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story: I didn't really do anything truly bizarre this year, which is odd. "Woods Forsaken" was unusual, because I'm still not a real Sirius fan, I guess.

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters:"Through the Gates". "The Widow Skywalker" constantly makes me look at Luke and Padme, find ways I hadn't looked at them before. Writing "In a Faint, Uncertain Voice" solidified Leia's character for me.

Easiest story to write: "There Must Be a Word". I sat down with the bunny that eventually became "Down Endless Street", but ended up with something completely different. It wrote itself.

Hardest story to write: Getting back into my Star Wars groove was a little tough. I paid for every word of "Through the Gates", in some passages.

Most unintentionally "telling" story: My femslash is telling, especially "Through the Gates". "What Rough Beast" is also a little telling, I think. But really, the most revealing story was, surprisingly, "These Are All Warnings (Which You Must Forget)"-- it brought back to me how much I hated high school, and I used that anger to fuel Young!Jack. I was surprised to discover that my resentment had not gone away-- it was only buried. I think, however, that I dealt with it, faced it in a way I never had before. But really, all stories are a peephole into the author's subconscious, whether we like it or not. We are as driven by our demons as we are by our muses.

"One Familiar Face"! Still so much love for that story. (I found a few chapters printed out in my desk before break, and I remember sitting at the science center and reading them before class. So disorienting, because it feels like a lifetime ago.)

Blah, class. *hugs* Have to think of something fun for tomorrow evening to cheer yourself up.

Because I don't know if your email is still active, I'm writing to you here. At one of your sites is a little problem to change (nothing awful or something^^) . May you write back to me (cotting@datacomm.ch), please? So I can tell you.